Dr. Joseph Ritter
August 10, 1937 — January 25, 2020
Dr. Joseph John Ritter of Mount Airy, MD., died at home, with family, at 82 years old, on January 25, 2020, after a long illness.
He was born August 10, 1937 in Catskill, NY to the late Peter Ritter and Helen Breunig Ritter. He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Elizabeth (Beth) Flanigan Ritter; sons, Thomas J. Ritter of Olney, MD., James Robert Ritter (Michele) of Fairfield, PA and daughter, Lisa Mary LaCour (John) of Zachary, LA.
He is also survived by his nine grandchildren, Matthew Ritter, Andrew Ritter, Katelyn Ritter Mester, Christina Ritter, Valerie Ritter, Tiffany Ritter, Stephen Ritter, Victoria LaCour and Michael LaCour. He is also survived by twelve great-grandchildren, and his brother, Robert Ritter (Margaret), of Leeds, NY.
Dr. Ritter graduated from Siena College in 1960 with a B.S. in Chemistry. He then began studying for his M.S. in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Vermont. He was invited by his research director to continue his research with him at the University of Hawaii where he earned his M.S. He and Beth were married just before going to Hawaii. He then took a research position at NBS (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) and also completed a doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Maryland. He retired from NIST in 1996 after 33 year career in which he was awarded two Silver Medals from the Department of Commerce for Meritorious Federal Service and held numerous patents resulting from his research.
Joe had many interests and could fix anything. He fulfilled a dream when he restored a 1947 Hudson Super 6 in 1990 and was a talented accordion player. He was a member of the American Chemical Society and the Hudson-Essex-Terraplane Club.
Family will receive friends on Friday, January 31, 2020 at the Stauffer Funeral Home, 8 East Ridgeville Blvd., Mount Airy, MD 21771 from 10:30-11:30 am. A Celebration of Life will follow at the funeral home at 11:30 am. Interment Pine Grove Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in his memory to a Charity of your choice.
Expressions of sympathy may be offered at StaufferFuneralHome.com.